Homo sapiens are the only creatures on earth privileged with high intelligence that allows us to be civilized. What evolutionary odyssey did we take to be granted this intelligence? The latest DNA research has discovered a key ancient incident that could solve this million-dollar mystery. It was an unparalleled event that caused our ancestors' brains to increase in size and advance in intelligence. Cutting-edge CG backed by the latest research results will take you on an extraordinary journey through time, back to the primeval event.

Leaps in Evolution • 0 • 3 episodes •

Five hundred million years ago, our previously eyeless distant ancestral creatures suddenly developed eyes, thereby marking a dramatic leap in evolution. What enabled our ancestors to suddenly evolve with eyes has been a long-unresolved great mystery in the history of our life. Now, scientists are close to cracking the mystery of the amazing story of the birth of our eyes, using cutting-edge DNA research. Travel back to a super realistic prehistoric world recreated by CGI to witness the astonishing story behind the birth of our eyes.

Human mothers raise fetuses inside their wombs and breast feed their babies for a long time after birth. What made humans evolve so that we raise our children so affectionately? The latest research reveals an unexpected origin of mothers' affection toward their children. Scientists believe that our ancestors experienced unforeseen dramatic changes in DNA under threats of extinction. These DNA changes caused humans to be devoted to raising children. Learn about the scientific interpretation of the evolutionary roots of your affectionate bonds with your kids.

Homo sapiens are the only creatures on earth privileged with high intelligence that allows us to be civilized. What evolutionary odyssey did we take to be granted this intelligence? The latest DNA research has discovered a key ancient incident that could solve this million-dollar mystery. It was an unparalleled event that caused our ancestors' brains to increase in size and advance in intelligence. Cutting-edge CG backed by the latest research results will take you on an extraordinary journey through time, back to the primeval event.

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Oxygen – we all need it, we can't live without it. It's integral to life on this planet. And it's probable that, as you watch this film, you will be breathing in an oxygen atom that was also breathed by Genghis Khan – or by the first ever apes to stand upright on the plains of Africa.
The oxygen that we breathe is made from two oxygen atoms joined together – O2. They were first joined more than 3 billion years ago by the earliest blue-green algae to evolve.
The oxygen molecule first came from bacteria and was present in the fires that destroyed the dinosaurs and the chemical reactions in all human cells, and as ozone they protect the earth from radiation.
Since then, both together and apart, they've had the most extraordinary adventures. Each of the two atoms in an oxygen molecule is virtually indestructible – so they have been first-hand players in some of the most dramatic events in the whole of Earth's history.
It's often said that we are breathing the same oxygen that the cavemen did. The life of a single molecule of oxygen is traced on it's astonishing journey spanning millions of years, from its creation, into photosynthesis, through the age of the dinosaurs, early man, and on into today.

First transmitted in 1965, David Attenborough retraces the steps of the famous Scottish explorer Dr David Livingstone in the final part of his African adventure.David Attenborough starts his journey in Sesheke, on the northern bank of the Zambezi river in the Western Province of Zambia. Retracing Livingstone’s Zambezi expedition takes him from Sesheke to Victoria Falls, named by Livingstone in honour of Queen Victoria, through to Zumbo and Tete in Mozambique.Using extracts from Dr Livingstone’s journal David Attenborough revisits African traditions and ceremonies that shocked Livingstone at the time, such as a masked dance featuring the Makishi devil.

The first episode tells how invertebrates became the first creatures of any kind to colonise dry land. Their forerunners were shelled and segmented sea creatures that existed 400 million years ago. Some of them ventured out of the water to lay their eggs in safety, and Attenborough compares those first steps with today's mass spawning of horseshoe crabs off the Atlantic coast of North America.

This new age of discovery is revealing there is still so much to learn about the cat family. Using high-tech collars, Professor Alan Wilson has discovered it is not straight-line speed that is a cheetah's greatest weapon but their ability to break, change direction and accelerate. His research is rewriting what we understand about the fastest animal on land. This is also a crucial time for cat conservation - most are threatened, facing extreme habitat loss and conflict with humans. Yet there are many positive stories of cats bouncing back from the brink,

Professor Alice Roberts explores the story of human evolution, revealing how a humble African ape became a successful global species. With daring parkour athletes and life-size primate animatronics, Alice explores the greatest leaps in our evolution by conjuring fire and re-enacting how we spread across the globe.